James Murphy Talks LCD Farewell Show, JAY-Z, More in New Interviews

“My theory was, if I make it our last show, we’ll sell it out in two weeks.... It wasn’t a total lark, but it was a bit larky”

Photo by Chris McKay/Getty Images

LCD Soundsystem frontman James Murphy has opened up even further about the band’s new album American Dream in an expansive new interview with Vulture, in which he calls the record “a completely new phase for the band” following the trilogy of studio albums that concluded with This is Happening in 2010. Murphy also explains that American Dream is “about forcing myself through my discomfort with singing and not allowing myself to have much wry distance.”

The band’s farewell show at the 18,000-capacity Madison Square Garden in New York City was also brought up again, as it was in Murphy’s recent interview with The New York Times. In both interviews, Murphy explains that the show had been booked far in advance and the promoters had “no faith” in the band’s ability to sell tickets, going so far as to suggest that Outkast’s Big Boi open for them. “Why on earth would Big Boi open for us? Big Boi was in one of the biggest, most important hip-hop—no, one of the biggest and most important acts of all time. It didn’t make any sense,” Murphy said. He continued, “My theory was, if I make it our last show, we’ll sell it out in two weeks... It wasn’t a total lark, but it was a bit larky. But I like making decisions. I find it easy.”

At one point, Murphy brings up a Newsweek article about Twitter’s roast of the American Dream album cover, calling it “both one of the worst things I’ve ever read and one of the best things I’ve ever read.” He went on: “Oh, sorry. Is my job to make you comfortable? Am I supposed to go give you a hand job? Hidden in that article’s assessment was the implication that we now live in a world where art’s only job is to reaffirm people’s belief that they have good taste.”

Elsewhere, Murphy also talks about JAY-Z, whose song “The Story of O.J.” is the one of the most recent songs he’s “gotten really excited about,” calling it “fucking beautiful.” When asked about the career arcs of other bands that have broken up, he theorizes on the Smiths, saying, “They didn’t come back because Mike Joyce sued Morrissey and Marr. I think if Mike Joyce had not sued them they would’ve come back. If there was no bad blood, it would’ve happened. But I don’t think Morrissey is capable of no bad blood.”